Hound of the Baskervilles, The, is a detective novel by Arthur Conan Doyle that features the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. The novel was serialized in the Strand magazine in 1901 and 1902 and published in book form in 1902.
Much of the novel’s action takes place in Devonshire, a county in southwestern England. The story is based on the legend of a monstrous hound that haunts the moors around Dartmoor in the county. The story is known for the eerie atmosphere of the fog-shrouded moors surrounding Baskerville Hall, the ancestral residence of the Baskerville family.
The story is narrated by Holmes’s assistant and friend, Dr. John Watson. Holmes is called in to investigate the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, who died suddenly after a possible encounter with the legendary hound. Holmes fears that Baskerville’s heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, will be the beast’s next victim. The story includes escaped convicts, ghostly appearances on the moors, and the distant howling of the terrifying beast—all leading up to a surprise ending as Holmes solves the mystery.
See also Holmes, Sherlock; Doyle, Arthur Conan.
